SC State Signs 18 Prospects

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

South Carolina State, on Wednesday, signed eighteen (18) prospects to national letters. Twelve (12) of the Bulldogs signees are from the Palmetto State, four are from North Carolina and one each from Georgia and Virginia.
SC State’s Buddy Pough, who is beginning his fifth season as Bulldog head coach, called the 2007 class the best overall for the university during his tenure.
“We are certainly excited about this year’s class,” Pough said. “It’s the best group we have signed since I’ve been here. I believe we addressed our needs. We wanted to bring in a couple of quarterbacks and were able to do this. We also got two top-notched defensive backs, guys who can run, and we got a couple of solid offensive and defensive linemen.”
The class features quarterback Malcolm Long of Gaffney, who led his team to a second straight state championship and was named “Mr. Football” in the Palmetto State the past season, and defensive stalwarts Devonne Qauttlebaum, a defensive back of Ridge Spring, and linebacker Julius Wilkerson, a teammate of Long’s at Gaffney.
“We are really pleased at the talent level in this class,” continued Pough. “It (the class) is headlined on offense by quarterback Malcolm Long and by (Devonne) Quattlebaum and Julius Wilkerson on defense.
“All three of those guys are Division I-A level players, and we are awfully lucky to have gotten them. A lot of things had to come together for us to get these types of players, almost like the lining up of the stars and the moon,” Pough said.
“And, I attribute our ability to sign this caliber of players,” Pough went on, “to the support of our administration, including the president, the athletics director, our faculty and staff, and the effort of our assistant coaches.
“We have improved facilities, especially our stadium, we can offer more attractive housing with our new student housing complex and we have a stronger overall approach to how we do things. This gives us more of an opportunity to impress prospects.”
The Bulldogs finished the 2006 campaign at 7-4 overall and tied for second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a 6-2 mark. Pough lost 14 seniors from that squad, all but one a starter.